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Veteran player Kwon Chang-hoon, 32 and a former national team member, signed with K League 1’s Jeju United on the 3rd. He is the first player brought in by newly appointed head coach Sérgio Costa. Jeju United announced on the 3rd, “Coach Costa highly praised Kwon’s abilities and rich experience since he coached him at the national team.” Costa was the top assistant to Paulo Bento, who led the South Korean national team from 2018 to 2022.

Kwon, once a highly anticipated player who made his debut in 2013 with Suwon Samsung and was named to the K League Best 11 as a midfielder in both 2015 and 2016, successfully transitioned overseas in 2017 by signing with Dijon FCO in French Ligue 1. During the 2017-2018 campaign, he appeared in 34 games, scoring 11 goals and providing 3 assists, making him the fourth South Korean athlete to net double-digit goals in Europe’s top five leagues, following Cha Bum-kun, Park Chu-young, and Son Heung-min. He later spent two seasons in the German Bundesliga with Freiburg.

After completing his military service in South Korea, Kwon played for Suwon and Gimcheon Sangmu before moving to Jeonbuk ahead of the 2024 season, where he remained until last year. Despite being a talented midfielder who took part in the 2022 Qatar World Cup after rising through the age-group national teams, he has recently tried a new approach by playing as a fullback. He has featured in 43 international games, scoring 12 goals.

This move is said to strongly indicate the plans of Coach Costa and the coaching team. A representative from Jeju United mentioned, “The signing was completed with agreement from the entire coaching staff, including Coach Costa. Senior coach Jeong Joo-kuk, who previously coached Kwon at Jeonbuk, also supported his acquisition.” Kwon expressed, “I am genuinely excited to begin a new journey at Jeju. I anticipate reconnecting with Coach Costa.”